The chairman of China's securities regulator condemned "barbaric" leveraged company buy-outs by some asset managers using illegal funds, according to a statement posted on the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) website on Saturday.

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"You've ultimately become a robber in the industry, and that is unacceptable," CSRC chairman Liu Shiyu said during his strong-worded speech at a meeting held by the Asset Management Association of China.

Liu said China's capital markets had seen a series of "abnormal phenomena" lately, challenging the bottom line of China's financial law and regulations.

"That is not financial innovation," Liu said.

(Reporting by Yawen Chen, Samuel Shen and John Ruwitch; Editing by Nick Macfie)